Monthly Archives: January 2021
Thoughts on the future of trumpism
I woke up today and saw the news, and it was suddenly… sane.
I am no great fan of Democratic politics. As I’m a leftist, I hadn’t seen a distinct difference between the two parties. I often have characterized Democratic politics as a “cooling off” for Republican policies – a part of the country’s rightward shift. Republicans will do something (say, start to bomb other countries with drones willy-nilly), and Democrats will freak out… but Democratic administrations will use the powers instituted by the Republicans. At that point, the Democrats shut up about it. Pretty much everything in the war on terror – drone assassinations, torture, secret and illegal detention, etc. – are now part of US politics.
Trump made me modify my view. Previously, I had considered the Republicans more doctrinarian and disciplined about their doctrine. While I found their doctrine odious, there was consistency for it. What Trump did – and this might be his lasting contribution to the Republican Party and conservatives, in general – is fracture that consistency.
Conspiracies, fundamentalism, and why we’re not done with Trumpism
Donald Trump is my brainworm. I can’t think past or around him. So, as writers do, I am writing about what I can write about.
The reason Donald Trump is so goddamn popular with so many people is that many millions of Americans have accepted conspiracy theories as real. Here and now, I’m going to argue that one of the most significant reasons that’s true is America’s relationship to religion, specifically Christianity.
Continue reading Conspiracies, fundamentalism, and why we’re not done with Trumpism